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Here is the question:. How does minimising measure up with poverty? While I am not the most poor senior woman in Canada I am close to it. So living simply has been a lifestyle that I believe in and hope that if my situation are to change financially my simplicity would not be challenged. One challenge is the difference between choice and necessity. Idealizing a lifestyle and many have zero choice about. It is Sept 17 I have no supplements left for a serious digestive issue I cannot buy food and supplements until Sept 28.
So that is how I will choose to make my point to your popular new lifestyle. Is it a mockery of a life many do not and would not choose?

I think you have a very valid concern, and it’s one many people share. So I will just let you know what minimalism means in our family.
We try to only keep things that we use frequently. The hiking backpack that rarely goes out on hikes found a new owner. The cast iron pan that we used every week before kids, but is now to small for our family, gets donated. As soon as our kids outgrow something, we donate it to another family who could use it.
Instead of shopping for fun, we only buy things that we need. We wear out our clothes.
Shopping isn’t our recreation, hiking, being at the lake or enjoying a free festival is. So we have money each and every month to give to charity. I know how hard it is to be poor.
Because we can spend less time cleaning, sorting and maintaining our stuff, we can donate time to help build a habitat for humanity home for friends of ours.
Minimalism for our family isn’t a trendy fade to make fun of poor folks. It is a simplification, so we have more time and money for things that are truly matter to us. Financial freedom, adventure and generous living.

The less I spend on frivolous items that I truly don’t need the more I can help others. I’m not rich by any standards but I see others truly struggling and I wish I could do more. We have lost focus on what truly matters in life. People before things. If the minimalist movement makes more of us aware then it has helped.

nice NY Times article – read that earlier this week.
give me time over any money ANY DAY, including Sunday.
agree re the sentiment that those who answered/responded with wanting more ‘money’ weren’t as happier… makes sense to me.

One thing I’ll add here: usually when it comes to MONEY, everyone has a # that they aspire to; a #, when reached, they finally stop and smell the roses. It’s a riddle; b/c the answer is “more.” it was used in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (but that’s besides the point). Rather than “more” my opinion is that the better (and happier) answer is “enough.” It forces one to think deeper into the abyss, go beyond the materialism that is constant and in the end, I think the material in the latest NY times article you shared mirrors this much: you can always have enough time, never more.

I think you’ve put it very well. For those who *can* afford to give, passing on items that no longer add value to their lives may benefit others. I agree, it’s not a fad. It’s about having enough.

I empathise with the Canadian senior who may not have enough to enable her to buy the things she needs. I appreciate her perspective. This is where new phenoemena such as the sharing economy have a role to play.

The NY Times article resonated with me because I know that, for the most part, time trumps money. It’s why I’m leaving my law enforcement career a bit early. Because I want more time for experiences with my family, and to pursue my artwork/writing. Thanks!

I think storage units have a place in the lives of minimalists. I recently went from 550 sq feet to 250 sq feet and having a place to hold my stuff while I unpacked and organized kept me from going stark raving mad.

I agree that storing stuff that isn’t going to be used is silly, but I think storage units are a great solution for temporary storage and like any resource, if used correctly, it can make a huge difference.

We had a storage unit once for three months while we lived with family and found a place of our own. When we went to empty it, the lady said there were only two kinds of people who rent units – those who store things three months or less and those who never come back – and she could tell which kind most people were. Interesting.

Also, I liked the list of multiple different ways to simplify, sort and get rid of extra things. I think it is important for each person to find the best method for them – we are all different!